


When Your Poison Blooms, I'll Drink It

by A_Dying_Wolf_Dying_With_Dignity



Series: Carnivorous Plance [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Borderline Unhealthy Attraction, Consent Issues, F/M, Fatal Attraction, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Lance (Voltron) Angst, Lance/Pidge | Katie Holt Angst, Langst, One-Sided Attraction, Pining Lance (Voltron), Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-16
Updated: 2018-08-16
Packaged: 2019-06-26 22:57:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15672990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Dying_Wolf_Dying_With_Dignity/pseuds/A_Dying_Wolf_Dying_With_Dignity
Summary: On a planet known to be filled with flora that defend themselves from intruders, a simple accident during a reconnaissance mission leaves Pidge breathing in a bush full of flowers giving off pheromones that induce a fatal attraction towards any other of the victim's specie. But even when Lance breathed in the same air, he knew he never needed those flowers in the first place when he felt this way already.





	When Your Poison Blooms, I'll Drink It

**Author's Note:**

> Writing this story honestly had me shaking, even more so than Your Thorns Over Others' Petals. I ended up pulling all the stops to make this very deep and emotional; some of the things I wrote weren't even from my initial ideas for this. Angst is my specialty and Pidgance is my lifeline in this fandom, making this one of my proudest works yet, so I hope you all enjoy this pain and suffering as much as I did.

_"You two will need to be extra careful on this planet: not all of the plant life here is carnivorous, but certain species will become confrontational if you enter their territories by mistake. The castle ship's archives have already uploaded to Pidge's monitor a list of those species and the signs to watch out for each of them. Take this one, for example..."_

Lance wasn't looking where he was going. He should've been, he was supposed to be keeping a lookout for any of those signs Allura told him and Pidge about while Pidge kept her eyes on her suit's monitor as they walked. Even though his bayard was materialized as an energy rifle, he never got to fire a shot before Pidge yelled at him for getting too close to one of those flower bushes they were warned of and she took his place in front of him.

_"Although a charming sight, these flowers exude a special type of pheromone when an enemy is within their proximity. They can easily be avoided if you see..."_

The pheromones came out of every flower in that bush as puffs of gas - _pink_ puffs of gas, to be exact. Right when they hit Pidge's face, Lance's focus settled on the flowers themselves. They looked like golden roses in the midst of their growth with the tips of their petals dyed violet. They were much more beautiful in person than they did on the screen the two first viewed them on.

_"Each victim that inhales the fumes will experience different scents that appeal to them individually. No two are ever alike."_

While having not taken the full blast of the gas, he could still smell it lingering in the air as it started to clear away. The detection of peanut butter was strong, even as it smelled as if it was surrounded by citric leaves. Strange as the combination was, he was expecting this, for he was used to smelling this almost every day.

It was Pidge's distinct scent.

_Pidge... Oh, crap, **Pidge**...!_

"Lance...?"

_"Victims may at first experience some slight dizziness, but once that goes away, there will be a dilation in the pupils and an increase in body heat. They will at the same time develop... a certain need..."_

Pidge called Lance's name again and received no answer. He was too busy waiting for her to turn around so he could confirm the symptoms. There was something in the way she called for him, however, that told him all he needed to know. She sounded unsure of herself, which was the definite sign of something wrong. Her voice was an octave higher, and she drew out his name a little every time she said it. It was also how she sounded... Was "desperate" the right word to use?

Finally, she turned around, and he saw it. Her pupils had blown out so much that her eyes appeared dark behind her glasses. Her cheeks were a dusty red, a similar shade spreading to her forehead. It went without saying that he could feel his own body heat up in response, but it was mostly based on his disbelief that any of this could possibly be happening right now. What a sight it was to see _Pidge_ , the esteemed _Katie Holt_ , blushing, especially at the sight of _him_ , the _not-so-esteemed_ Lance McClain.

_"... a need... for the intimate closeness of the first they see whom is of the same specie..."_

On any other given day, Lance would have thrown himself at her if she looked at him that way because of him. He would've scooped her into his arms, kissed her with all the fervor for her he's bottled up for so long. He'd let her hands roam wherever they wanted, satisfied by the mere presence of the thorny touch he desired more of. If they weren't on this planet, in the middle of a recon mission, he'd let himself be consumed by the poison that came from her smile alone. He'd die a happy man.

Something along the lines of how today wasn't one of those days disappeared from his train of thought when he found that he couldn't move, let alone  _breathe_ , when she stood on her toes and her hands pressed over his chest. Though protected by his armor, it still felt as if she was growing thorns that were piercing into his very skin. Usually, she would only touch him when she was reprimanding him for goofing off or when she'd keep them together during a fight; it was rare for her to touch him for any other reason. On the other hand, this was part of her very nature, to perform every movement she makes with purpose.

His bayard reverted to its original form as it clattered to the ground. His brain was starting to swarm with processing over and over again that she was touching him and that alone felt _so good_.

She belonged on this planet, he decided. She's a carnivorous plant just like the others they've encountered so far, designed to kill her victims by whatever means necessary. It would be easy for her to be a killer here with her rough touches and experience in deceit; her mind alone would be enough to bring anyone to their knees, as she's done to him. She reminded him of those pitcher plants he learned about as a child, the ones that trap and drown insects in pooling fluids within, then dissolve their bodies for nutrients. Right now, he wouldn't mind if she drowned him in her poison, the same which damaged him every time she smiled in his direction-

_**Quiznack** , she's smiling now- She's smiling at **me** \- Nonono **no** -_

Feeling her lips lightly caress his jaw sent him off his feet and stumbling onto the ground with a yelp. He was sitting up but he couldn't stop _shaking_ ;he felt so _weak_ against her and neither were even putting up a fight. Pidge got down on her knees to straddle his waist, and by instinct he leaned back to accommodate her. The moment she cupped his face between her hands, he was sure he was a lost cause.

_I'm going to die... I'm actually going to die._

"Lance..." she whispered, her breath ghosting over his own, an intoxicating perfume stronger than the flowers. She was still smiling at him, too, the cutest lopsided grin he's ever seen, and _shit_ if that wasn't going to be the plague of his dreams for the next few weeks he wasn't sure what else could top that. "You're okay, right?"

He was more than okay, but thanks for asking. Unable to form any words, he gave a nod instead.

"Good, that's good to know. Hmm..." Her eyes, a pair of hazels much darker now, locked on his steel blues. For the first time, she wasn't looking at him the same way she looks at their friends, something he's been craving ever since she unknowingly turned him into her slave. She was here, singling him out from the rest of the universe, treating him as her toy, as he should be. And she looked so beautiful doing it.

Through the thick branches and leaves of the trees shading them from above, the sun shone through in tiny beams. A halo of light appeared to rest over Pidge's head. Simultaneously, with her towering over him, the angle of the light cast a shadow over her face, revealing a familiar glint of mischief in her eyes.

His personal angel of death.

He felt so blessed he wanted to cry.

With the first brush of her lips against his, however, the rest of Allura's warning came back to haunt him.

_"Following direct exposure and established attraction, victims will lose most if not all sense of reason; their minds will cloud up to maintain focus on whomever they find themselves attracted to. If they go without intimacy for a long enough time, the amount of time varying among individuals, their bodies start to overheat and physically hurt. They can be quite dangerous in that state, doing whatever it takes to get what they want, unable or even unwilling to think clearly while under."_

Right... As much as he didn't want to face the truth, as much as he wanted to stay submissive, Lance needed to remind himself that the girl on top of him was _not_ Pidge.

Ideally, there should be no need for hostile space flora to manipulate Pidge into loving him back in any way. The smile she was giving him now should be out of genuine care, how she looked at him now a constant in their lives over in a more perfect yet unlikely reality. He'd hold her and kiss her to both of their hearts' content as long as she'd give him her most explicable consent. He was brought up knowing he must always be a gentleman to anyone whose affection he's the object of. Never should he dare take advantage of another no matter the circumstances.

Pidge wasn't in her right mind at the moment. If she can't let herself consent with a clear head, then this wasn't consent at all.

For this reason, Lance was able to pull away from the kiss before it went any further. "S-Stop," he told her, throat still tight. "I'm sorry, Pidge, I-I really am... but I just _can't_ let you d-do this... _not like this_..." On the bright side, it didn't hurt him to say it.

"What...?" her reply came out under her breath, smile gone just like that. Her eyes widened, blinking several times. Her head shook in unison. It was a complete one-eighty from her previous behavior. "N-No, Lance... I'm fine, I promise!" Pulling her hands from his face, she threw her arms around his neck, a pair of spiked ivy that caged him in further, before she pressed her forehead against his, refusing to break eye contact. "You know I-I wouldn't lie to you about s-something like this, Lance...! Y-You know that, right?"

"Of course I-"

"Then isn't this okay? If you were just worried about me-"

"I still am."

He could feel her body shake through her armor almost as much as him. Her words were more rushed, forced out in a panic.

_She's not herself._

"Lance, I-I don't get you-"

"Don't worry, you don't need to."

Rising heat radiated off each other's skin, both that in which were in direct contact and that which were not. The more frantic he watched her become, the warmer she felt.

_This isn't her._

" _... Please..._?" She sniffled. She  _actually_  sniffled. They were so close he could see her eyes gloss over with welling tears. "It hurts... I-It hurts not to..." A hiccup broke through. "... to k-k-kiss you...!" Dipping her head, her glasses slipped off and bounced onto the ground beside them. "Can I k-kiss you, Lance? Can I, _please_?"

Had they not been in their current situation and something different was happening while they were both themselves, he would've slammed his entire body through a brick wall without his armor on and then confine himself from the outside world for making her cry. She must be catching on that he was hurting just as much as she was for holding them back, perhaps even more than her. Even so, he had one advantage over her that was helping him through dealing with her drugged anguish:

At this point, this pain was _normal_ to him.

Coupling the past two years of nearly driving himself into insanity over her with remembering how too far gone she was, he gained _some_ confidence that he could stand a fighting chance against her. Purposely losing to her had to wait for another once in a lifetime opportunity that was out of his reach - he'll hate himself for this later. 

Sighing into the crown of her head, he answered her request with a firm "No". If he had stilled himself and listened hard enough, he would've been able to hear her tears pitter-patter atop his chest armor.

Yet he continued to fight the poison. "You need to listen to me, alright, Pidge? Those flowers are making you feel and act like this, not you yourself. None of this is really you. I know it hurts right now, but I'm stopping this before either of us do anything we'll regret when we're back to normal. Before _you_ do anything _you'll_ regret."

"I won't re-"

"I know you will. You don't think so, but I know so."

Her head tilted up to show her forming a glare towards him. Her face had gotten so red and wet, a sight that sent a pang of guilt through his chest. "Stop it!" she snapped. Retracting her arms, she reached back for her bayard. "I know what I want, so shut up and let me-"

" _This isn't you._ "

Lance had seen it coming. His hands, at first immobile, shot up to grip both of her wrists tightly until she dropped her bayard. It landed right beside her glasses. For a second he had to brush aside the thought of how this was the exact opposite of his fantasies.

Allura said that victims become " _dangerous_ " in this state, but could the same thing be said about Pidge? She's _always_ been dangerous, a force to be reckoned with. If anything, given the fact that she was so far gone that she was about to threaten to electrocute him into paralysis just to kiss him, those pheromones brought out the worst in her. This side of Pidge that threw caution and logic to the wind - she wasn't just a carnivorous plant, she was a _monster_. The most amazing flower in disguise.

But no matter where they were or what was happening, he would prefer the Pidge who refuses to conceal her true thorns over this monster hiding behind the mask of a flower. 

Ignoring the surprised look on her face, the soft gasp she made, Lance brought her wrists together into one of his fists. They were so thin even with the armor on that his hand enclosed them completely. "Believe me, if you were acting like yourself, you wouldn't be this predictable. I know you." He knew more about her than anyone else in Team Voltron. "I know you and this isn't you." The real Pidge would never want him like this _._ "Now, you're going to cooperate with me and let me take you back to the castle. We'll talk after we recover." This was fine, even if it means he'll never get the chance to kiss her ever again. As long as she's okay. "Got it?"

And it seemed she was finally conceding to his assertions, albeit with unwonted silence, having shifted herself over until she was no longer straddling him and instead sitting beside him, wrists remaining locked together. He used this time to move into a crouch in position and gather their bayards and her glasses. Once they were both standing, he looked down at Pidge. She refused to look at him, though he could read her mood by her reddened cheeks practically glowing and her downcast eyes.

Their bayards hooked to the hip of Lance's armor and Pidge's glasses back on her face, he let go of her for a quick moment before he scooped her into his arms. He could at the very least show that he trusted her enough not to fight him while he'd bring her back. Plus, this may prove to get them back faster, considering how light she was.

His suspicions about that proved to be true during the walk to the castle ship, having memorized the path they took. He didn't struggle with carrying her and she didn't struggle against him. At one point she even wrapped her arms around him and buried her face into his neck.

It took whatever willpower he had left to not hold her tighter. He shouldn't let himself get used to this; this was temporary, after all. He could only revel in what he had now, in which for once he's the one holding these thorns and not the other way around. It hurt him nonetheless.

 

 

Five hours had passed after Lance brought Pidge back to the castle ship and Allura and Coran advised him to leave her in her room to sleep. They assured him that her getting some rest would help move the effects of the pheromones along, and that a shorter nap would be just as beneficial for himself. None of the other paladins approached him about what happened on that planet, only understanding that he wanted the ship back in space as soon as he got that nap in.

After his nap, however...

"We need to talk-"

"Q- _Quiznack_ , Pidge! You almost gave me a heart attack!"

Pidge startled him by standing right outside his room when he was proceeding to leave to check on her, both of them now in their normal clothes, having woken up some minutes before he did and was informed by the others of why they were no longer down there. As it turned out, recovering from direct exposure to the pheromones induced memory loss over anything that took place while being under. The only one left who had any idea as to what happened was Lance.

So, he let her into his room to sit on his bed with him as he explained, not leaving out a single detail. The longer he spoke, the wider her eyes got and the more she blushed - nothing like her drugged state, though. He expected her to react this way. Since their return, he had to prepare himself to tell her everything and not hold back. It wouldn't have been fair to either of them otherwise.

Of course, he made sure to gloss over his own feelings and the things he said in the midst of their interaction down there without her noticing. All she needed to know was that he was at first unsure as to how he should handle her sudden change in behavior but in the end was able to take charge of the situation.

"Oh my god...  _Ohhh_  my  _goooood_..."

Hence, the steady growth of Pidge's fluster over being told how she acted. "Dammit, I won't be able to live this down," she whined, hunched over in her sitting position with her upper body weighed on her knees by her arms. Her forehead dug into her hands. "This is so embarrassing..." She then sat up straight with a sigh. "At least I know I can trust you - you have a good set of morals when it comes to how you treat people."

"Well, yeah, I wouldn't do anything to anyone if they weren't in their right mind. I knew something was wrong when you showed interest in me since... I'm not someone ' _driven by logic_ '."

"You remember that, huh?"

"Mhm..." Of course he did. It never failed to keep him in his place. "... Hey, Pidge..." From the corner of his eye, he could see her staring at his profile. "Was that, um... Was that your first kiss?"

She didn't tense up, only said nothing. He took that as her yes. A full minute passed, and he feared their silence would expose his heavily pounding heart. She was probably disappointed, having shared her first kiss with him, someone who can never be on par with her greatness.

"... How was I?" she asked him, prompting him to glance back at her in confusion. "For a first kiss, I mean. How did I do?"

Better than he would've ever expected from someone who was a kissing virgin, but then again, this was _Pidge_. Even if she was doing something for the first time, she never failed to bring up the most impressive results. He forced himself not to shiver at the memory of her lips tasting like cinnamon sugar - sweet with a kick, contrasting her anything but sweet attitude.

Instead, he shined a teasing grin. "You showed promise for a first-timer... I'd ask what you thought of me, but it's a _darn shame_ you don't remember. I'll say, though, that you seemed _quite_ happy kissing me."

He let out a laugh that was cut short by her lightly jabbing his side with her elbow. Her cheeks were colored a dusty red again, yet she ended up laughing with him all the same. "Didn't you just tell me that you knew I wasn't acting like myself? Obviously that was the pheromones reacting." She dropped her elbow back to her side. "But in all seriousness, I'm glad it was with someone I can trust."

_"Trust"..._  There was that word again. Lance wanted to take that word and write it all over the walls of his room. He's always prided himself in knowing that she at the very least considered him one of her closest friends. That was fine, he'd let himself have that, because it was better than thinking he was nothing special to her at all.

He nearly fell apart the moment Pidge got up then turned to hug him. Since she had the height advantage in this position, with him still sitting on the bed, the side of his head was cradled against her chest with one hand, her other arm secured in a loop around his shoulders. With one ear left unmuffled, he could hear her muttering "Thanks for taking care of me". It felt too good to be true, having her genuine self giving him this much attention, the closest he would get to true affection from her. For once he felt as if the thorns that aligned her had been retracted; he felt no pain, nothing that fed his masochistic heart, but rather felt soothing to his body.

Before he could reach up to return the embrace, however, she pulled away. That small moment between them had left him quickly. Soon enough, she, too, was gone, leaving him alone his room without looking back, just an excuse about meeting him in the dining hall for dinner later.

_No, don't go, please..._

Lips forming an uneasy line, his chest suddenly felt too heavy and tight, and so he flopped onto his side on his bed. He took a few deep breaths into the sheets. It lingered on his bed and on his clothes, her strange scent of peanut butter and citric leaves. What a shame that it wasn't toxic to him.

His body screamed for her. He could still make out the weight from how she held him now minutes ago. It was different from her usual prickling touch and from the abnormal sharpness her thorns gained during today's incident. It was _delicious_.

Today was a blessing and a curse. Where satisfaction once resided, a deeper craving took its place. To think the only way he had any chance of experiencing such pain and pleasure again would be if Pidge wasn't her true self... Lance wrapped his arms around himself and curled into a ball with his eyes shut tight. Once deep breaths slowly turned into heavy panting. He could feel a rush of tears on their way and they were coming in fast.

_"As far as it's known, there is just one form of protection someone can have in order to have resistance against the pheromones..."_

"Pidge..." he whimpered. For her. "Pi-... K- _Katie..._ " He's never stopped hurting, the pain will never stop. He was used to it all except one thing.

_"... And that is: if they are already attracted to whomever they have lain their eyes on, even if those feelings are completely one-sided."_

He would sooner die a madman for her than die being falsely loved by her.

**Author's Note:**

> Let's be real, which series am I more likely to be sent to Hell for: Carnivorous Plance or Counting Scars?


End file.
